The Hard Knock Life
by The Spiny Butterfly
Summary: After moving to a muggle suburb of London, Harry and Hermione find themselves with some odd, but familiar neighbors. The question is: What are Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson doing in a primarily muggle part of London? Dramione/Hansy
1. Familiar Faces

**Welcome to "The Hard Knock Life", a story of four seemingly different characters being forced to interact on nearly a daily basis, merely due to an ironic living situation. If only they could understand why. **

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><p>"Granger?"<p>

She recognized that voice immediately. What was Draco Malfoy, of all people, doing in a muggle suburb, in a muggle flat, in London. She turned around and locked eyes with him, the blond Slytherin she hadn't seen in over three years.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Hermione had just unlocked the door to the flat she and Harry shared, and the door was standing open: Crookshanks could be seen walking past.

"I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn't you be shacking up with Weasley?" Draco asked, crossing him arms.

Hermione winced internally, refusing to let him see. "That's none of your business. If you must know, Harry and I just moved-"

"Wait. You dumped Weasley for Potter?" Draco laughed, stopping only when Hermione shot a glare in his direction.

"No, I did not dump Ronald for Harry. I'm with neither of them. In the fewest words, Ron left me for Lavender."

"Oh."

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Hermione repeated her question, feeling she'd sufficiently answered his question.

"Pansy and I moved in a month ago." Draco turned slightly and unlocked the door across the way, if only to prove his point. "I guess we're neighbors now, Granger. Who would have thought?" He smirked.

"Goodbye Malfoy. Leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone. It's as simple as that." She said, going into her flat and locking the door behind her.

"Oh, I don't know about _that_, Granger." He said softly, heading inside.


	2. And Not So Familiar Faces

**I'm sorry. I do realize the previous chapter was incredibly short, but it was merely meant to be an introduction. As the story progresses, the length of chapters will probably increase. **

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><p>"Are you serious, Hermione? We should move. This will end up terrible for the lot of us." Harry nodded his thanks as she set a cup of tea in front of him, before sitting down herself. He had just gotten home from his new job, secretly working for the Ministry of Magic while keeping up the ruse as a processor at an accounting firm. It was not entertaining work, but it was simple. "If Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson really live across the way from us..."<p>

"You think I haven't entertained the many possibilities that could occur? We signed a contract, Harry. Even magic won't get us out of that." Hermione sighed, taking a sip of her tea. "Hopefully, they'll leave us alone and we can extend them the same courtesy-"

"You didn't tell them why we were here, did you? Posing as muggles and everything?"

"Harry! Honestly, do you think I'm that thick? I let a slip out about Ronald but that isn't your business at all. They have no idea what exactly we're doing here, or that we're even posing as muggles at all. I'm sure they want to leave us alone as much as we want to be left alone."

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><p>Hermione couldn't have been more incorrect in that respect. After hearing the same tale from Draco that Hermione had given Harry, Pansy had been almost thrilled at the prospect of living across two people she'd tried to torment through seven years of Wizarding school.<p>

"Oh, go on Draco! If only for the ruse. You did invite that Jeff fellow after all."

"_John_ and I did not spend the better part of seven years hurling insults and spells at one another. Nor was I ever on the side of the man who murdered John's parents. I'm sure there's a slight difference between John's and Potter's feelings towards me." Draco countered, rolling his eyes as she shoved him towards the door.

Pansy waved her hand, shaking her head. "Water on the bridge, or whatever that muggle trite is. Look, you just have to ask. We're the only people on this floor. Besides, it's been six months. We should be less-"

"Antisocial Introverted?" Draco offered, to which Pansy nodded her agreement.

"All of that and more, dear. Now just ask him and get it over with before I literally curse you into oblivion." She opened the door, smiling when the flat across from theirs opened, revealing an almost hurried looking Harry Potter.

"Perfect timing Potter!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly. As Harry glanced over at her, he couldn't help but notice the change in them both: Pansy's usual biting attitude had left her with a surly expression, but seeing her with a grin on her face made her seem pretty in his eyes. He almost shook his head to shake away the thought.

"For what, exactly?" He asked, glancing between the two, a skeptical expression on his face.

"Pansy was forcing me to pointlessly invite you and Granger over this weekend for a football tournament. We've been having a continuous party this year for this, and John and his sister," Draco pointed down the hall, feeling completely foolish, "also known as the only other people on this floor, are coming. You two are invited to join."

Harry stood in shock for a moment before nodding. "I'll ask Hermione, although we might both have to work. Drat that little bit." He said, trying to sound sincere.

Pansy frowned a little, but nodded. "It's an open invitation, Potter. Don't forget that." She said, smiling again at him. "Sorry to bother you. You seemed to be in a rush. I'm sure we'll see each other around, after all."

Harry nodded again, before shutting the door to his flat and heading towards the stairs. Pansy closed the door, to which Draco sighed, before glaring at the brunette as she busted out laughing. "I'm so sorry Draco but the whole time, you just seemed so serious, and he almost had a heart attack. It was so touching how you two managed to bury the hatchet after three years."

"Pansy, you do realize that means we've been here for two years, correct? Living as muggles, trying to make ends meet. Losing our inheritance, our wands, our dignity. For what? Now we're forced to live across from two of the bloody trio who helped enact the laws that prevent us from being amongst our own kind."

"I'm sure they didn't realize-"

"Pansy, if they didn't realize that the laws would affect us both, they were sadly mistaken. It was a veritaserum enabled law, and we were both subjected. Unless we continue to live out our sentence in peace, we'll never get back into our world. Even if we do, we'll never be accepted, and we'll never have our lives back. Is that what you want?"

Pansy sighed and walked away from him, heading towards their sitting room. "No Draco, you know I don't. I'm just...tired of trying to be nostalgic all the time. We can make the best of what we've got here. It has been two years. Our sentence was for at least five, and that was on good behavior. Have you not moved on yet, Draco?" she asked quietly.

"No, I haven't. We were innocent. We were just kids, charged with the crimes of our fathers."

"Just not the punishment."

"No, theirs was much kinder." He replied bitterly.

"Did you watch your father get the kiss Draco? I'd have traded all my freedom away to avoid that fate." Pansy said quietly, looking down at the ground. "They're not dead Draco, but death would have been kinder."

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><p>After Harry's awkward and strange meeting with the two former Slytherins, work had been almost pointless. He couldn't concentrate, and simultaneously using muggle connections to find former death eaters was proving difficult, especially as he was having to hide from many members of the MoM at this point. Returning to their new flat was almost a reprieve.<p>

"Hermione? Are you still up?" He asked as he entered, although he knew she would be. The light in the sitting room was on, and she was, predictably, curled up with a book and Crookshanks, reading by the dim light.

"How was it today?" Hermione closed the book, setting it aside.

"Dreadful, although I'm not quite sure where to begin. I did "meet" our new neighbors, though." Harry grimaced, sitting down across from her. "I didn't have time to get an explanation, before you ask. I was too shocked at them inviting us over to watch a muggle sport tournament. I mean, we both understand football, to an extent, but they seemed to be enjoying it."

"That is perplexing..." Hermione bit her bottom lip, thinking. "Maybe we should go, Harry. We might be able to find out more about why they're here. Neither finished their seventh year at school, you know. After Pansy tried to sell you out before the end of the War, and Draco obviously trying to help himself, they both seemed to vanish."

"That isn't quite true, Hermione." Harry opened his briefcase, pulling out two files, both marked 'Confidential'. "One of these is for Pansy Parkinson, the other for Draco Malfoy. They're part of the Exiled, Hermione. We did this to them."


End file.
